Wood frame construction has long been the norm for the erection of buildings such as dwellings. The wood frame construction utilizes dimensional lumber to provide the framework and supporting structure in erecting a building.
The wood frame construction, as its name implies, is in effect an assembly of frames. Walls, ceilings, roofs, floors are all frames of one sort or another. Most often, the frames are erected or fabricated at the dwelling site by skilled carpenters. The frames are joined together to form the framework of a building. The framework of the building is covered on the exposed exterior portion with suitable materials, such as siding on the walls, shingles on the roof and so forth. Similarly the interior of the framework is suitably covered with conventional finishing materials well known in the trade. Insulating material is mounted within the framework, such as between the studs of the walls, between the floor joists of the floor and so forth. The labor to erect a dwelling coupled with the increased cost of the building material has rapidly placed ownership of a home out of reach to many prospective homeowners.
Attempts have been made to lower the cost of housing by producing modular units at a factory and then shipping the units to an erection site. The modular units may be in the form of sections of a building or sections of a structural component such as a wall. In either case, the same wood frame construction is utilized. The savings is generally in labor, since the same materials are utilized.
There is a need for low cost material and method of erecting buildings such as dwellings. The present invention fills that need.